Thurs., Aug. 12: Tom Petty’s got his ‘Mojo’ working

As fine of a power-popsman as Tom Petty has been in the past couple of decades (see his stellar “Walls” from She’s The One, the sublime Echo or the title track from his 2002 The Last DJ), it’s been far too long since a mainstream audience has heard him and his band the Heartbreakers get down and dirty.

Their new album, Mojo, swiftly scratches that itch, brewing up a batch of grimy southern blues-rock with a psychedelic twist. It’s a flavor the Florida rock vets know well — you can slice the swagger with a bowie knife when “I Should Have Known It” stops its swampy groove in its tracks with Petty sneering, “It’s the last time you’re gonna hurt me.”

Plus, in the best one-two arena punch we’ve seen in Nashville since Roger Daltrey opened for Eric Clapton: Crosby, Stills and Nash will be kicking off the evening when Petty and Co. visit Bridgestone Arena (501 Broadway, 770-7825) on Thursday, August 12. There’s a clear line that can be drawn between CSN's first few classic releases and Mojo’s trippy southern trajectory.